A few years ago, I was a very coddled gamer - I barely ever even looked at a videogame series that wasn't Mario. While I was at my friend's house, he suggested we play multiplayer on a game called "Pikmin 2" for the GameCube. I didn't know what this was, but I accepted anyways; and I had a very good time commanding my Pikmin army around the maps. So I thought I'd try it out... Pikmin 2 was a vital step for me in getting into non-Mario games, although I still prefer the pudgy plumber over any other series.
First came Pikmin 2, which was the first non-Mario game I really, really liked. Then came Kirby's Adventure, which introduced me to a new series I ended up loving. Then came Secret of Mana, bringing me into a delightful series that wasn't even developed by Nintendo. You could say I'm now a normal gamer - because of Pikmin 2.
I thought I was just gonna buy a good
game; I didn't know I'd end up with one of the greatest games ever made.
STORYLINE - 9.3/10
During the last chapter of the Pikmin saga, there was a man named Olimar. CAPTAIN Olimar - a worker for Hocotate Freight. While flying through space on his ship, the S.S Dolphin, an asteroid knocked his ship down to a mysterious planet and scattered the nuts and bolts of the ship all around it. Using the help of Pikmin - native, plant-like creatures of the planet - he was able to repair his ship and escape to his home planet of Hocotate.
When the captain gets back to Hocotate Freight, he doesn't even have time to explain his incredible story; the President of the company is in panic. While Olimar was away, Hocotate Freight's newest employee - Louie - had an unfortunate incident that cost him his supply of "Golden Pikpik Carrots", which were apparently of great value. Due to this, Hocotate Freight is now 10,000 Pokos (the currency of Hocotate) in debt. Out of desperation, the President even had to sell the S.S Dolphin, which Olimar had worked so hard to rebuild. In shock, Olimar drops a bottle cap that he brought back from the planet as a souvenir. A nearby, rusted ship shouts "Treasure! Money!" out of its speakers. Absorbing the bottle cap into its storage, the machine then calculates that the bottle cap is worth 100 Pokos. The President beams in delight and hope.
Surely there must be more treasures on the planet of the Pikmin? If enough of these treasures can be salvaged, the debt can be paid off. And who knows, maybe Hocotate Freight can get some extra profit as well. The President sends Olimar and Louie into the rusted ship to fly back to the mysterious planet. But of course, they must once again seek the help of the Pikmin...
It's definitely quite a cool story -
while you were leading Olimar across the planet and collecting all those
gears and gizmos a few years back, Olimar's company was facing its own
problems. Usually games have much more urgent plots, like saving the world
or rescuing a damsel in distress. Pikmin 2's story is so much more... modern.
It's all about financial troubles, and you're risking your life just for
the preservatopm of your company. THAT'S dedication!
GAMEPLAY - 9.9/10
Stellar! You know how Super Smash Bros. Melee was just like Super Smash Bros, but it greatly improved the formula? That's just the case with Pikmin 2 and Pikmin, only on a greater scale. For those unfamiliar with the basic gist of Pikmin, let me explain. You have to guide creatures called Pikmin across the planet in search of treasures. You can use them to defeat enemies, lift objects, and reproduce by sacrificing things to their "Onion". Since I'll probably be reviewing the original Pikmin later, I'll leave the deeper details for then. Let's go to what got Pikmin 2 this perfect score...
The thing that made this game so much better than the original was the installment of dungeons. Pikmin only had an overworld to explore - and I, personally, felt quite limited by this. Pikmin 2's overworld isn't as well designed, but let me tell you, the dungeons far and away make up for that. See, there will be some holes in the ground in the overworld - no doubt that there's treasure below! You must take a good horde of Pikmin into the dungeon, because you can’t spawn any more of them there. Once in there, you have to collect as much treasure as possible and take it to the research pod at the beginning of the dungeon using your Pikmin. Oh, and there are plenty of monsters and hazards as well. Now, when you're done, there's a hole that you can use to go even deeper in. Once at the end, there will be a geyser that allows you to leave.
These dungeons... Wow, they are REALLY well designed. They're tense, they're fun, and they have very unique designs. Not to mention, time stands still while you're in them, so you don't have to worry about nocturnal hunters coming to get your Pikmin. Really, I can't stress this enough - dungeons add an INCREDIBLE amount of depth in to the game, and it wouldn't have been nearly as good without them.
The Red, Blue, and Yellow Pikmin from the original make a return here; as always, Reds are fire retardant, Blues can survive in water, and Yellows can be thrown high and survive electric shocks. Two new breeds of Pikmin are now introduced, and they're much more unique. First is Purple Pikmin - very useful, to say the least. These burly brutes have the strength of 10 Pikmin and can do great damage to enemies. Just try beating a boss without these guys - they make fighting a lot easier. Their only downside is that they're rather slow. White Pikmin are quite the opposite, though. They're resistant to any kind of poison, not to mention they'll intoxicate any beast that devours them. Their eyes allow them to see treasures hidden under the dirt, and they're also very swift. Both these Pikmin are very useful, but they're difficult to gain. They don't have Onions like the primary-colored Pikmin - instead, you have to sacrifice a Red, Blue, or Yellow Pikmin into a White or Purple Candypop Bud in order to convert them. This makes reproducing the newbies... somewhat tedious.
Among the smaller additions to the game...
The removal of the time limit was one of the biggest improvements in the
series. Though Pikmin was well-received, it was widely panned for its 30-day
time limit. With Pikmin 2, you get as many days as you need - the President
will just keep on dodging those debt collectors! And since there are TONS
of treasures in the game, a time limit would really worsen the game. Last
up, is your teammate Louie - having 2 captains is more helpful than it
seems. You can have Olimar take some Pikmin to get a treasure and have
Louie and his team bring some enemy corpses back to the Onion. And you
can switch between these captains by just a simple tap on the Y button.
GRAPHICS - 9.1/10
This is pretty much the only part of the game that hasn't developed much since the last game. Nonetheless they still look amazing. They're very smooth while still looking realistic; water for example. It's not the kind of blue water that's seen in most other cartoony videogames, they actually make it transparent (with good splashing effects, too). Bright graphics make the overworld quite lively, but the dungeons maintain the realistic effects... while switching to a darker palette. And that's good for the atmosphere, too!
One minor complaint I have is the character
models; the Pikmin in particular. From a normal camera angle, they look
perfectly fine. Zoom-ins may reveal otherwise, however. You can see their
somewhat polygon-esque shape, but thankfully not many other characters
have this minor flaw.
MUSIC AND SOUND EFFECTS - 8.4/10
This is the kind of music that takes awhile to truly appreciate. On my first playthrough, I really couldn't find any music I liked except for the boss theme. When I actually took time to listen to the game's soundtrack, I found it was quite good. The overworld really doesn't have the best music, but it's the dungeons that really interested me. The dreaded chasm known as the Submerged Castle... the music that plays in it really sets the feeling of the dungeon. Reminds me of EarthBound, too.
In terms of variety, though, Pikmin
2's soundtrack is a bit monotonous. You've got your rather boring overworld
themes, and the creepy yet cheerful dungeon themes. A few more scary ones
await, and a very emotional one at the 100% ending, but that's really the
basic theme of the soundtrack. I'm not saying I don't like the style, I
could just use a few more styles.
LENGTH AND DIFFICULTY - 9.8/10
Games that aren't too hard but still offer challenge, and are also long... I was very impressed when Pikmin 2 took that road. It's easy enough for someone like me who previously hadn't had much gaming experience outside of Mario. There are a lot of "close call" moments, but at least that stirs up some excitement and tension. The difficulty is JUST right as I've implied, but I could go for a little more length. Getting enough treasure to at least pay off Hocotate Freight's debt will take about a week or 2- y'know, now that I actually type that out, it makes the game seem pretty long. I was gonna give this section a 9.3, but hey, why not a 9.8 to spice things up? Plus, I say it well deserves that rating.
A few overpowered bosses can really
give you a hard time, though. There are two beasts in particular I want
to note: first, the much-feared Waterwraith. In the Submerged Castle, if
you take too long on a sublevel, this horrible, ghastly creature drops
down and seeks to murder you and your Pikmin squad. For reasons that aren't
worth mentioning, Waterwraiths are invincible... for most of the dungeon,
that is. I've lost more Pikmin to Waterwraiths alone than I have the final
boss... Anyway, here's a strange instance, where one minor change can turn
an easy boss in to a gruesome one. The first time you fight an Empress
Bulblax, she's quite simple and predictable. The next time, she hasn't
changed her battle plan... except for the fact that she gives birth to
dozens of Bulborb Larva that can eat your Pikmin like a lawnmower. You
may find yourself losing 10 or 15 Pikmin before you even land an attack
on the Empress.
REPLAY VALUE - 10/10
Repaid your company's debt? Ha, you've barely even scratched the surface of this incredibly addictive game. Many, MANY more treasures will still be hidden away in the planet of the Pikmin. This is largely thanks to the fact that once you beat the game, a new area opens up. It's full of hostile creatures and rumbling, deadly grottoes which will tax even the most skilled Pikmin commander with their brutal setup. You'll feel almost obligated to find every last treasure that Pikmin 2 had to offer; and who could blame you? You'll be rewarded with a great alternate ending if you find all 201 of these valuables. But when exploring a certain arachnid-infested chasm, you'll come across a treasure called "The Key"...
Once you find this Key, a whole new Challenge Mode awaits you - and it's far better than Pikmin's very simplistic one beforehand. This mode offers around 20 mini-dungeons, so to speak. For each one, you're given a set amount of Pikmin to help you find the Key in each sublevel. There's a 2-player co-op mode here, too! If you're skilled enough to make it through a dungeon without losing a single Pikmin, a purple flower will appear on the menu. If you get purple flowers for all dungeons, you'll be rewarded with a new cutscene.
Both those things alone would get this
section a 10, but Nintendo even took the time to put in a very fun multiplayer
mode. See, you and your opponent are placed in a battlefield of your choosing,
each at your own separate "bases" as I like to say. At your base, there
is an Onion for reproducing Pikmin and a large marble. In order to win,
you have to travel to your foe's base and have your Pikmin haul their marble
back to the Onion. Of course, you'll have to fight some beasts and enemy
Pikmin along the way. As an alternate method of winning, several smaller
marbles are scattered across the stages. If your Pikmin can get 4 of these
marbles back to the Onion, that'll get you a victory as well.
FUN FACTOR! - 9.6/10
I just really like the idea of Pikmin in general - such a clever mix between adventure and real-time strategy. But Pikmin 2 is so much more than just an upgraded Pikmin formula; it adds so many new things and gets almost everything right. The action, tension, and strategy make for a VERY addicting game, so results will include pale skin from playing Pikmin 2 in the dark for hours without end, and very warm seats. Remember to eat, too- Ooohhh, you know what, who needs food? We have Pikmin 2... Of course, food IS cool as well. A pizza and a Dr. Pepper AND Pikmin 2... That's nice.
It's hard to find any point of tedium
in the game that's really worth noting. Err, one thing that bothers me,
however, is... either Olimar is too fast or the Pikmin are too slow. Frequently
you may find your leaf or Purple Pikmin lagging behind the rest of the
group, so you'll have to stop every so often to let them catch up. Any
flower Pikmin will be able to keep up perfectly... until you get a certain
item that increases your speed. Then, only flowered White Pikmin can keep
up with you.
OVERALL - 97/100
The best thing to happen to the GameCube. Some would say that would be The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker, others would say Metroid Prime, but I wouldn't let anyone tell me otherwise; I love Pikmin 2 to death, you must get this game. Did you notice that no score that I gave dropped below an 8.4? Besides that music category, everything else was a 9 or above. A very, very impressive feat, especially considering that it far outdoes the original-- As a matter of fact, it could just be the most well-done, beautiful sequel ever made.
Pikmin 2 shouldn't be that hard to find; most game stores will probably sell used games, and this one is bound to be in there somewhere. And likely for a cheap price, as well. If you want, there's a New Play Control release of it coming up soon, so you can try those controls out to ready you for Pikmin 3. My point - Buy it, play it, love it. Even if you're not very interested in the series, it's still a must-have. I wasn't interested at first, but when I got it, as you can see I ended up extremely pleased. Ultimately a legendary game.
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